The Meatloaf Problem
by richonnesmints
Summary: Chimney finds out that Maddie ordered the meatloaf for dinner, and he feels awful because he forgot to warn her about it to begin with... so he does everything in his power to make sure she doesn't have to eat it.


**A/N: for my girl, mad. Happy birthday, beautiful.**

**LISTEN, I'm not a doctor or nurse, and I'm very aware that some of the things in this story are silly because nurses don't actually do these things, but do I care? NO. The only thing that matters here is how caring Chimney is. **

The phone began to ring beside Chimney's bed. He slowly moved his arm and grimaced in pain as he picked it up.

"Hello?" He answered softly.

"Hi," Maddie's voice came over the line.

Chimney's lips immediately turned up into a smile.

"How are you?" He asked.

She sighed. "I'm okay. I'm tired of sitting in this hospital room. They told me I wasn't allowed to walk around anymore today because they think I'm overdoing it, so… I can't come and visit you the rest of the evening."

Maddie had visited him several times throughout the day, and he had seen her walking down the hall occasionally. The doctors were right, she was definitely overdoing it. Even though he wanted to see her, he also really wanted her to rest.

"You need to be careful and take care of yourself. We can talk on the phone like this."

"Yeah," Maddie agreed after a moment of silence. "I miss you."

Chimney swallowed hard as his heart began to race. It had only been a couple of hours since they had last saw each other. Of course, Chimney missed her too. He always missed her when he wasn't with her.

"I miss you too," he said softly.

They both became quiet, and it wasn't like it was an awkward silence, but Chimney still wondered what was on her mind.

"Maddie?"

"Yeah, Chim?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Maddie laughed a little on the other end. "I was just thinking about all the times we ordered takeout and how you made me hot mustard every single time."

Chimney grinned. "I can't believe the delivery guy forgot it every time."

Maddie began to talk and he already knew she was smiling. "I can't wait until we get out of here, so we can go back to eating takeout. I miss it."

"Me too."

"That's what we should do for our first date. I don't care about going out. I just want to stay in with you and order takeout, and enjoy that amazing hot mustard you always make for me."

Chimney laughed. "That sounds like a plan."

"Speaking of food, what did you choose for dinner?"

Someone had came by Chimney's room about twenty minutes ago to ask him what he wanted for dinner.

"I ordered the steak, the mashed potatoes, and green beans. What about you?"

"I chose the meatloaf, the biscuit, and the mashed potatoes."

Chimney's eyes widened.

Oh, shit.

The meatloaf.

He was supposed to warn her about that, but he had completely forgotten about it.

"Oh no, Maddie," Chimney groaned.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked, worry in her voice.

"I was supposed to warn you about the meatloaf, but I forgot. I'm sorry… but you weren't supposed to get that."

"What… what's wrong with it?" Maddie questioned.

"Apparently it's so bad, it could make a tooth fall out."

Maddie laughed. "Chim, come on. Who told you this?"

"Christopher told me not to eat the meatloaf because he ate it before… and he said he lost a tooth because of it."

"His tooth was probably loose. That's all."

"But still, I'm definitely not taking any chances, and you shouldn't either."

Maddie laughed. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Chim, it's just meatloaf."

"Dangerous meatloaf."

Maddie began to talk, but Chimney couldn't really hear her. He figured that a nurse had walked into her room.

"Okay," Maddie said. "Umm, Chim, I have to go. They want to change my bandages… but I'll call you when I take my first bite of meatloaf to prove to you that I'll be fine."

Chimney shook his head and grinned. "You do that. Bye, Maddie."

"Bye."

Chimney reached over to hang up the phone and grimaced in pain as he did. He sighed.

He actually felt bad that he hadn't warned Maddie about the meatloaf sooner.

God, he couldn't let her eat that.

She definitely didn't need to lose a tooth.

An idea popped into Chimney's head… there were vending machines at the end of the hallway… and he did have his wallet and some money in it. There was only one problem; he couldn't walk all the way down there by himself. Hell, he had only walked from his bed to the doorway of his room, so trying to go that far definitely wasn't a smart option.

Chimney was definitely going to make it to those vending machines, he just needed some help to get there.

And if he couldn't get help, he would still figure out a way to get down there.

He hit the "call for nurse" button on the side of his bed. He knew it wasn't a time where he needed help or it was an actual emergency, so he hoped someone would help with his problem.

A nurse arrived about a minute later. Chimney had became familiar with this particular nurse; her name was Natalie, and she was great at her job. She also happened to be very lenient with some of the rules; she had even let Maddie stay in his room past visiting hours a few times.

So, seeing Natalie made Chimney happy. He was more hopeful that he could actually get help.

She smiled. "What can I do for you, Mr. Han?"

The only thing he could do was grin, and she immediately knew that look. She put both her hands on her hips, and gave him an accusatory look.

"I've seen that look enough times to know that what you want is something that I may not be able to give you. That right there is the "please help me break the rules" look."

Chimney laughed. "Just so you know, I'm not going to ask you to break me out of here."

Natalie smiled. "That's a relief, Mr. Han. I've actually had patients ask me that before. So… now, I'm really curious."

He sighed. "I need you to get a wheelchair for me and push me down to the vending machines… so I can buy some snacks."

Her brows raised. "But you shouldn't have to wait too much longer for dinner?" She questioned.

"The snacks won't actually be for me. They're for a friend."

"I see, and I assume that this friend is Miss Buckley, who's right down the hall?"

Chimney immediately began to smile. "Yes."

"Well, her dinner will arrive the same time yours will."

"Yes, she ordered the meatloaf, and I can't let her eat that. I was supposed to tell her not to eat it."

"The meatloaf?"

"Yes. Someone warned me not to eat it, but I forgot to warn her. I wouldn't be asking for help if it wasn't important. Please?" He was practically begging at this point.

Natalie sighed. "Okay, I'll help you out, Mr. Han. I have to go and find a wheelchair."

"Thank you," he said as she walked out of the room.

Chimney relaxed his head against the pillow and smiled. Maddie definitely wasn't eating that meatloaf.

Natalie came back with a wheelchair a few minutes later. She walked over to Chimney and helped him slowly sit up. He let out a breath as his side began to burn.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

Chimney nodded and he sat on the edge of the bed for a little bit before he decided to stand up.

As soon as he stood up, the pain intensified by a thousand.

"This is worth it," he told himself.

And it was.

He was in a lot of pain, but nothing would stop him from going down to those vending machines. Nothing.

He only wanted to make Maddie happy.

He sat down in the wheelchair, and he was out of breath by that point. Natalie stood there and let him catch his breath.

"My wallet…" he said. "It's in my pants pocket over there…"

Natalie stepped away, grabbed his wallet, and handed it to him.

"Okay, are we ready to go?" She asked.

"Yep," he answered.

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been a lot better, but I'll be okay," Chimney said as she began to push.

"So, what exactly is wrong with the hospital's meatloaf?" She asked.

Chimney told her everything… what Christopher had said, how he had decided he wasn't going to take any chances, and how Maddie had ordered it.

"Well," she began. "I'm not officially allowed to say this, but the meatloaf is hated by a lot of patients around here."

"So, more people have lost teeth because of it?" Chimney asked.

"Now that, I don't know, but I've heard that it's really hard to chew, so I'd say it's possible."

They arrived to the vending machines, and Chimney sighed.

"People also hate the steak too," Natalie said after a few moments.

Chimney groaned. " 's what I ordered."

Natalie chuckled. "So, I assume that you'll be getting more than a few snacks this evening?"

"Definitely," he answered.

Chimney sat there for a second and looked at all of the available options. The good news was that a lot of Maddie's and his favorite snacks were there.

"You point out what you want, and I'll get it for you," Natalie said.

Chimney nodded and got some money out of his wallet and handed it over to her. He began to point out all the snacks he wanted.

He ended up going with Doritos, Cheetos, Popcorn, Skittles, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Snickers.

"Have you had lunch yet?" Chimney asked.

She shook her head. "No, I still have a few hours."

"Pick out something and I'll buy it for you," he offered.

"You really don't have to do that," she said.

"I made you drag me all the way down here, so it's the least I could do."

Natalie sighed and shook her head. "Okay, fine."

She ended up going with a Snickers bar. When she was finished, she went to hand Chimney back his money so he could put it back in his wallet, but he couldn't take it. His hands and lap were full of snacks.

She grabbed the wallet from his lap and put the money back inside.

"I'll keep this safe for you until I can put it back where it belongs," she told him as she put it in her pocket. She began to push him down the hall again.

Chimney really thought about giving her the snacks to give to Maddie, but the idea of him delivering them himself seemed a lot better. Besides, he was already comfortable in the wheelchair. He wasn't even in that much pain anymore.

"I actually have one more favor to ask. It's not too big."

Natalie laughed. "You want me to make sure Miss Buckley gets the snacks, right?"

Chimney titled his head to the side."Something like that, yeah. I'm already up and about… sort of… so I was just thinking that maybe I could take these myself, and eat dinner with her this evening."

Natalie sighed. "Look, I'll let you eat dinner with her, but you can't stay away from your bed too long, okay? And you have to get your bandages changed in a while. I'll give you an hour."

Chimney grinned. "Okay. Deal."

"And I'll make sure that your dinner gets to her room too," she said.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, but remember that you only have an hour. Time flies, so make sure you actually eat instead of getting distracted."

Chimney's cheeks felt hot. He definitely knew what she meant, but he was going to play dumb.

"What do you mean?"

"Now, Mr. Han, I think we both know what I'm talking about… the late visiting hours with your friend… and not to mention, you've even had a few of the nurses worried about your heart rate a few times during the first few days."

Chimney knew he was blushing. Yeah, maybe he and Maddie had kissed a lot whenever she visited him. Maybe he had gotten so worked up more than a few times that his heart began to race. Maybe they both had to hide their embarrassment when they had to admit to the nurses that they were the reasons his heart was acting up.

"Well," Chimney said before he laughed a little. "You know what they say… I have to focus on my recovery and getting better… and kissing Maddie just happens to make me feel better. It's doing wonders for my recovery."

Natalie chuckled. "If you say so, Mr. Han…. if you say so."

They were only a few feet away from Maddie's room. The door was shut, so Natalie knocked.

Chimney smiled when he heard Maddie's voice telling them to come in. Natalie opened the door and walked in; she left Chimney out in the hall.

"There's someone out here who really wants to see you," Natalie said.

"Oh?" Maddie said in the form of a question.

Natalie walked back out, so she could push Chimney in.

"Surprise," Chimney said, a grin forming on his face.

Maddie's eyes immediately went to his lap and eyed the snacks. Chimney's eyes focused on the tray of food that was sitting right in front of her. He just hoped that she hadn't eaten any of it yet.

Natalie pushed him closer to the bed, and Maddie sat up a little.

"Mr. Han, I'm sure you're food is waiting on you too, so I'll be back with it right away," Natalie announced.

Chimney nodded, but he kept his eyes on Maddie.

"Chimney, you really didn't have to do that," she said softly.

He placed the snacks on the bed beside of Maddie's right leg before he looked up at her and shrugged.

"I know. I just… I felt really bad."

"About meatloaf," Maddie said.

He shrugged again, a grin forming on his face."Yeah."

She began to smile. "But I still want to try it to see what it tastes like."

"Maddie."

"Chim."

Natalie walked into the room pushing a table with wheels and Chimney's tray of food was on top of it. She rolled it over to Chimney and positioned both him and the table in place.

"One hour," Natalie said.

"One hour," Chimney repeated.

"No distractions," she said.

"Well…I can't promise that."

Natalie smiled and shook her head. "I put your wallet back in your pants, and I just wanted to thank you for this," she said as she held up her Snickers bar.

Chimney smiled. "You're welcome."

"I'll be back very soon," Natalie said.

She walked over to the doorway and took one last glance before she shut the door behind her.

"Chim, did you bribe the nurse with a candy bar?"

"Of course not. I offered to buy that for her after… for all the trouble I put her through."

"And what did she mean by no distractions?"

Chimney shyly looked at the bed before he looked up at her.

"That means that we're supposed to eat… and not kiss."

Maddie's cheeks began to get a little red.

"Right," she said softly.

She focused on her food and picked up a fork.

"Maddie, come on. You can't be serious."

"I am. I'm going to prove to you that Christopher's tooth was just loose."

Chimney let out a loud, dramatic sigh as he watched Maddie cut a piece.

"Everything's okay so far," she said as she looked at him.

His eyes widened as he watched her pop a piece into her mouth. She began to chew, and she immediately made the weirdest face.

"Okay. This is disgusting," she said as she placed her fork down. "And hard."

Chimney watched her as she struggled to get it down. This was definitely one of those "I told you so" moments, but he tried to keep a straight face. He admired Maddie's bravery for even trying the meatloaf even after she heard about how bad it was.

Maddie grabbed her water and took a few sips before she began to speak.

"So, I think that means we should both listen to what Christopher says next time… no matter how silly it sounds," Chimney suggested.

Maddie laughed. "Definitely. So, are you going to try the steak?"

Chimney shook his head.

"The nurse told me that people hate the steak too, so I'm not even trying it."

"I wouldn't try it either."

"Oh, now you say that," Chimney teased.

"Stop," Maddie said before she smiled.

Chimney rolled the table over; he wasn't even in the mood for hospital food. He began to slowly roll the wheelchair closer to Maddie's bed.

"Chim, what are you doing?" Maddie asked as she pushed her own tray to the side and slowly began to get up.

"Stay there," he told her.

"No, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Well, I don't want you to get hurt," he said.

Chimney sighed as Maddie pushed him the rest of the way to the bed. When she finished, she stood there for a second and looked down at him.

"I just want you to know that I really appreciate you leaving your room and going all the way down the hall just to get snacks. That means so much to me," she said softly.

Chimney reached for her hand, and Maddie offered it to him. He kissed the top of it before he looked up at her.

He smiled. "I probably would've crawled down there if I hadn't gotten any help."

"Chim…" Maddie whispered.

"I'm serious," he said.

Maddie smiled a little. "That definitely wouldn't have been good for you, but I know you are."

Chimney placed a few kisses on her hand.

God, they had both been through so much, but he was so grateful that they were still alive and that everything would be okay.

She meant the whole entire world to him, and he really wanted her to know that.

"Maddie, you mean so much to me," he whispered.

"Chim…" she said softly.

She placed her hands on either side of his cheek and slowly bent down. He closed his eyes as her lips touched his.

Before Maddie, Chimney honestly couldn't recall a time when he would get butterflies while kissing someone. But with Maddie, it happened every single time. Every kiss was just as special as their first.

Maddie pulled back and rested her forehead against his.

"I hope you know how much you mean to me, Chim… because you mean everything to me," she whispered.

"Maddie…"

Chimney felt like he could seriously cry. He didn't know how he had been so lucky to find someone like Maddie.

She closed the small gap between them, and they kissed again before Maddie completely pulled away.

"Well, we've already broken the one rule we had, and I haven't even been here five minutes…" Chimney said before he grinned.

Maddie walked behind Chimney and placed her hand on the back of his head. She lazily ran her hand through his hair.

"After all we've been through, I think that we should be allowed to break rules every once in a while," Maddie said.

Chimney felt his wheelchair move, and he realized that Maddie was pushing him.

He grinned. "Does this mean that we're breaking out of the hospital?"

Maddie laughed. "Definitely not. I don't mean anything that extreme. I'm just pushing you over to the corner, so I can sit on the chair."

"So, we can eat?" Chimney questioned.

"No, so we can makeout. It's kind of hard for me to stand up, and we'll both be at an awkward angle if I sit on the bed."

Chimney definitely liked the sound of that, but if Natalie walked in there and found out that they hadn't eaten... they could both get into trouble.

As if Maddie could read his mind, she spoke up about his concerns.

"We can makeout for the next fifteen minutes, and that should give us enough time to eat."

Maddie sat down, and pulled Chimney closer to her.

He looked her over and a smile started to form on his face.

"What?" She asked.

"You're beautiful."

Maddie's eyes widened. "I'm definitely not. What's today? I can't even remember the last time I showered. My hair's a mess, I don't think I even brushed it today. Did I? I don't remember… so I am far from looking beautiful, Chim."

Chimney raised his hand and ran his thumb down her cheek.

"You're beautiful all the time, especially when you don't think you are."

Maddie moved closer to him and let out a breath.

"How did I get so lucky with you?"

"I ask myself the same question about you every day."

Maddie sniffled as she moved closer to kiss him.

Chimney knew right then and there that they would most likely kiss longer than fifteen minutes, but did he care that he would have to rush and eat his food?

He definitely didn't.

Focusing on Maddie was the only thing he cared about.


End file.
